Braiding machine



March 20, 1934.

W. C. WRIGHT BRAIDING MACHINE ATTORNEY March zo, 1934. 1,952,007

W. C. WRIGHT BRAIDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m f ffm-1"' t ATTORNEY March 20, 1934. wfc, WRIGHT 1,952,007A

BRAIDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 50, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY March 20, 1934. w. c. WRIGHT BRAIDING MACHINE Filed sept. so, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 R .Ma Z

y f77/'f7 ATTORNEY j Patented Mar. 20, 1934 narran Application September 30, 1932, Serial No. 635,661

S Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in braiding machines for making braided ropes and cords, and more especially to those of the class shown and described in Letters Patent No.

137655,11?, granted June 17, 1930, comprising an annular set of strand supplying devices, such as bobbins and cooperative iliers, rotatable as a unit about a common axis and also rotatable individually upon their own axes so as to braid the l0 strands and thus forrn the braided rope or cord.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide an improved carriage or mounting for the strand supplying devices whereby they are supported as a rigid unit, thereby avoiding all possibility oi' distortion oi" such mounting or of the proper operative relationship of the strand supplying devices and their driving means due to twist or other causes while in operation, especially in a machine wherein a set of the strand supplying devices are driven in proper timed relation by an .annular series of gears operating in a sectional gear casing, seine of which. gears are segmental and cross spaces between the sections of the casing to provide for the passage oi the iiiers or one set at the proper times, the rigid unitary mounting ci the strand supplying devices, according to the present invention, maintaining the casing sections rigidly iixed cooperative relation during the operation of the machine and thereby avoiding interference with the proper crossing oi the segmental gears between the casing sections.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dusteproof housing which forms part of the mounting for the strand supplying devices and which encloses gears which drive the strand supplying devices from a stationary pedestal so that they rotate on their own axes while rotating about such pedestal as a common axis, thus simplifying the construction of such driving means, protectm ing the driving gears from dust or vother foreign matt r, and facilitating the maintenance o1c the proper lubrication thereof. i

Another object of the. invention is to provide simplified and improved means for driving strand supplying devices of one set from those of the other set so that the sets of strand supplyingl the braiding thereof, the strand tensioning means being also preferably adjustable for the production 0:" hard or soft 1craid, as may 'ne desired.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved bobbin holder comprising a bobbin receiving spindle which is mounted to swing to and from operative position and is provided with a latch or retaining member for reieasaoly retaining the spindle and a bobbin thereon in operative position, so that the operation of removing an empty bobbin and replacing it by a new or filled one is facilitated.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter r re fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specication.

k In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a section taken centrally and vertically through ,a braiding inachine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the machine, taken on the line 2 2 in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the machine, taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. l;

4 is horizontal section through the niachine, taken on the line 4 4 in Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through vthe machine, taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1;

S a detail vertical section through a 'portion ci the driving means for the upper strand supplying devices, taken on the line 6 6 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a detail side elevation of one oi the upper strand supplying devices;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View of one or" the sections of the casing which encloses the driving gears for the upper strand supplying dewices; A

9 is a detail vertical section through a portion of .the driving rneans `for the lower strand supplying devices, this section being taken on the line 9 9 in Fig. 4;

Fie'. 10 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the tensioning means for one of the lower strand supplying devices; and

Fig. 11 is an elevation of the structure shown ,in Fig. lo as viewed from the right in that gure.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several gures.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter described in detail, but it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted ofi to the precise construction shown since equivalent constructions are contemplated and such will be included within the scope of the claims.

The present invention is shown in the present instance applied to a braiding machine of the same general construction and mode of operation as that disclosed in the above mentioned patent, the machine comprising a base plate 1 having a pedestal or central vertical supporting shaft 2 bolted or otherwise secured thereto at its lower end so as to extend upwardly therefrom, this pedestal being preferably formed with an axially extending bore 3 for the feeding of a core strand therethrough when it is desired to produce a braided rope or cord having a core strand.

According to the present invention, a rigid cylindrical sleeve 4 is journalled to revolve on .the lower portion of the pedestal, the weight of this sleeve and the parts carried by it being sustained preferably by an anti-friction thrust bearing 5 which is mounted in an enlargement on the lower portion of the spindle as shown. The sleeve 4 is formed with annular iianges 6 and 7 at its upper and lower ends and disk-like heads 8 and 9 are rigidly secured to the flanges 6 and 7, as by screws 10 and 11. The sleeve 4 and heads 8 and 9 thus rigidly united therewith constitute a rigid unitary carriage or mounting for the strand supplying devices and their driving means.

The lower head 9 has a suitable number of shafts 12 rigidly :fixed therein at their lower ends so as to project upwardly therefrom, and each of these shafts has a sleeve 13 revolubly mounted thereon, as by the upper and lower anti-friction bearings 14 and 15. The upper portion of each sleeve 13 has a bushing 16 fixed thereon so as to revolve therewith, and each of these bushings extends rotatably through an aperture 17 in the upper head 3 and is rotatably supported in said head by an anti-friction bearing 18. Such mounting of the shafts 12 and their surrounding sleeves 13 in the upper and lower heads 8 and 9 affords great regidity to the shafts and their sleeves and prevents twist thereof about the pedestal as a center, or other distortion, during the operation of the machine, due to the application of the driving power to the lower end of the mounting and the resistance to the rotation thereof incident to the braiding operation, the mounting being revolved during the operation of t ie machine by a bevel gear 19 which is Xed to its lower end or to the lower head 9 and meshing with a driving pinion 20, the latter being nxed on a main driving shaft 21 which is mounted in suitable bearings 22 and is driven by belt pulleys 23 or other suitable means from an appropriate source of power.

The upper head 8, according to the present invention, forms part of a dust-proof housing to enclose the driving gears for the revoluble sleeves i3. For this purpose, the upper side of this head is recessed to provide pockets 24 for the bearings 13, a central recess 25, and to form an annular surrounding upwardly extending flange 26. A gear 27 which serves to drive the sleeves 13 is keyed or otherwise iixed on the non-rotatable pedestal 2 at a point immediately above the head S so that it is contained in the central chamber 25 therein, and this gear meshes with a series of pinions 28 each of which is mounted revolubly on a journal pin 29 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the head 8 at a point between adjacent sleeves 13, as shown clearly in Figs. 4 and 9, and each of the pinions 28 has a pinion 30 keyed to the hub thereof as shown or otherwise xed thereto to rotate therewith, each pinion 30 meshing with gears 31 which are keyed or otherwise ilXed to the bushings 16 which in turn are xed to the adjacent pair of revoluble sleeves 13. Such gearing between the sleeves 13 and the central non-rotatable pedestal causes said sleeves to revolve in the same direction and at equal speed during rotation of their supporting carriage or mounting about the pedestal. The recessed upper side of the head 8 is closed by a removable cover 32 which may be detachably held in place by nuts 33 on the upper ends of the pinion pivots 29, as shown in Fig. 9, the cover in conjunction with the recessed head 8 forming a closed housing which completely encloses the driving gearing described for the sleeves 13, thus protecting such gearing from dust or other foreign matter, removal of the cover to provide access to such gearing or :for other purposes being easily accomplished after removal of the retaining nuts 33. This housing is also adapted to provide a chamber to contain lubricant for the gearing therein, leakage of the lubricant therefrom through the openings 17 being prevented by forming the lower ends of the bushings 16 with out-turned annular ilanges 34 which may be provided with annular felt or other packing rings 135 to form oil-tight joints with the under side of the head 8.

The revoluble sleeves 13 carry a lower set of strand supplying devices each of which comprises a bobbin holder and a thread or strand guiding iiier rotatable with the respective sleeve. The present invention provides a bobbin holder of improved construction, which facilitates the removal of an empty bobbin and the replacing thereof by a iilled bobbin and which also provides for the regulation of the tension on the strands supplied from the lower bobbins during the braiding operation. Each of the lower bobbin holders as shown comprises an arm 35 which is fixed to the lower end of the respective sleeve 13 so as to project radially from a side thereof and to rotate therewith, this arm having a spindle 36 pivoted thereto at its lower end by a pivot pin 37 so that the upper end of this spindle may swing radially toward and from the sleeve 13, and each spindle 86 is provided at its lower end with a bobbin supporting disk 38 which is also pivoted on the pivot pin 37, the disk 33 also having a segmental lug 39 thereon which is arranged to abut against the under side of the arm 35 as the spindle 37 is swung outwardly or away from the sleeve 3.3, said lug thus limiting the outward swing of the spindle. bobbin retaining member 40 is provided above the disk 38 to bear on the upper end of a bobbin 41 resting at its lower end on the disk 38, this latch or member being also provided with a recess or socket 42 to receive the upper end of the spindle 36 and thereby retain the latter in operative position. The latch 4o has a yoke-shaped portion 43 which straddles the respective sleeve 13, and this portion of the latch is pivotally mounted on the respective sleeve by a pin 44 the ends of which are rotatably fitted in the arms of the yoke 43 and are retained by nuts 45 threaded on the ends of the pivo-t pin, the middle portion of the pivot pin extending through the lugs 46 of a split clamp 47 which embraces the respective sleeve 13, this clamp being rigidly xed to said sleeve by nuts 48 which are threaded on the pivot pin and act on the lugs 46 to close the clamp into gripping engagement with the sleeve 13. A bracket 49 is secured to the under i,

A latch or side of the yoke 43 of each latch, below the pivot `pin 44 thereof, and thisbracket has a downwardly extending lug into which a hollow or tubular set screw 51 is threaded, a lock nut 52 being provided for retaining said set screw in diierent adjusted positions. The hollow interior of this set screw contains a coiled compression spring 53 which acts on a plunger 54 to force this plunger against the adjacent side of the respective sleeve 13, in consequence of which the spring 53 will act to swing the latch 40 downwardly into retaining relation with the bobbin spindle 36 and to produce a frictional pressure on the upper end of the bobbin 4l resting on the disk 38, the friction thus` produced by the latch resisting rotation of the bobbin incident to the unwinding of the strand or threadtherefrom and thereby producing tension on the strand or thread. While the spring pressed plunger 54 thus acts to yieldingly hold the latch 40 in bobbin vretaining and tensioning position, rit may be forced back against the spring 53 to permit upward lswing of the latch 40, as indicated by the dotted lines at the right hand side in Fig. 1, to release the spindle 36 so that it may be swung outwardly for removal of an empty bobbin and the replacing thereof by a new or lled one, after which the spindle 36 with the bobbin thereon may be swung back to operative position, its upper end automatically enteringthe socket 42, for which purpose the portion of the under side of the latch leading to said socket is bevelled or inclined as at 140 so that the upper end of the spindle will ride thereover as it swings back to operative position, In order to prevent displacement of the plunger 54 from the set screw 51 in the event the latch 40 swings downwardly while the spindle 36 is swung outwardly, the spring plunger is provided with a stem 55 which extends vloosely through the outer end of the set screw and is provided with a cotter pin 56 or the like to prevent undue movement of ,the plunger under the action of its spring.

Each of the lower thread supplying devices is also provided, according to the present invention, with means for automatically taking up slack in the respective strand during the braiding operation and thus regulate the tension on these strands. Such slack take-up or tension regulating means comprises a lever 57 arranged at one side of the respective sleeve 13 and pivoted thereto by a pivot pin 58 which is supported in a bracket suitably iixed to said sleeve, the opposite or free end of said lever having a hook 59 which is arranged to engage a loop zr in the strand or thread leading from the respective bobbin through an eye 160 which is suitably fixed to the side of the sleeve 13 above the lever 57. The lever 57 is pivotally connected, at a point between its pivot and thread engaging hook, to a plunger 60 which is threaded at its lower end'to re ceive a nut 61 and is encircled by a coiled compression spring 62, the upper end of this spring bearing on a bracket 63 which is fixed to the respective side of the sleeve 13 and the upper end of the plunger having a reduced end 64 which is slidable through the bracket 63 and bears Vin a seat or recess 65 formed in the under side of one of the arms of the yoke 43 of the latch 40. By this construction, the tension of the portion of the strand or thread forming the loop ct" therein tends to lift the lever 57.' When the tension in said loop increases, the lever 57 will be swung upwardly, thereby lifting the plunger 60 against the action of the spring 62, and the upper end of the plunger will act on the latch 40 to swing it 'upwardly against the action of its spring 53,

thereby reducing or removing the downward pressure of the latch on thefupper end of the bobbin and thus reducing the frictional resistance to the rotation of the bobbin incident to the unwinding of the strand or thread therefrom, with the result that the tension on the strand is automaticallyv reduced or restored to normal. On the other hand, when slack occurs in the loop of the strand, the lever 57 will be forced downwardly under the action of the spring 62, thus removing upward pressure of the plunger 60 againstthe latch 40 and thereby permitting the spring 53 to press the latch downwardly with increased force against the upper end of the bobbin and thus increase the frictional resistance to its rotation incident to the unwinding of the strand therefrom, with `the result that the tension on the strand will be automatically increased or restored to normal. By appropriately adjusting the set screws 51 for the latches of the lower bobbin holders, the degree of tension on the strands supplied from the set of lower bobbins may be adjusted for the production of either hard or soft braid. Adjustment of the slack take-up and tension regulating levers 57 may be obtained by rotating and thereby adjusting the nuts 6l on the lower threaded ends of the plungers 60 whereby the strength of the respective springs 62 is varied.

The iliers or strand directing arms 66 for the lower set of bobbins are each provided with a split clamp 67 at the lower end for clamping them rigidly to the upper ends of the bushings 16 on the respective revoluble sleeves 13 above the upper head 8 and cover 32, so that these iiiers will rotate with the respective sleeves and about their axes as centers. The strand or thread from each lower bobbin extends upwardly from the respective lever 57 and through the respective guiding eye 160, thence through a passageway 68 formed longitudinally in the respective bushing 16 and is then led outwardly past suitable guide rollers 69k and is threaded through the flier and passes from an eye 70 formed in the upper end thereof.

The upper set of thread supplying devices, according to the present invention, are driven substantially directly from the sleeves 13 which carry and drive the lower thread supplying devices as valready described. As shown in the present instance, the upper end of the bushing 16 on each sleeve 13fhas a bevel gear 71 keyed or otherwise fixed thereto and a combination bevel and spur gear 72 is mounted to rotate freely on the upper end of the respective shaft 12, as by an antifriction bearing 73, and a pinion 74is revolubly mounted on a journal pin 75 which is carried by a collar 76, the latter being keyed or otherwise xed to the shaft 12, the pinion 74 meshing with the gear 7l connected to the respective sleeve 13 and to thebevel gear teeth on the gear v72. By this arrangement, as the annular series of sleeves 13 carrying the lower strand supplying devices are revolved above the pedestal 2 and are revolved about their own axes through the gears 31 thereon and the interrneshing gears 30 and the gears 28 fixed to the respective gears 30 and which roll around the stationary gear 27r which is fixed to the non-rotatable pedestal 2, the bevel gears 71 which rotate in the same direction with the ysleeves 13 will drive the respective gears 72 in an opposite direction through the interposed pinions 74. The spur teeth on the gears 72 are arranged to mesh rwith segmental gears 75, the latter being shown in the form of half gears, and one of these gears being located between each adjacent pair of gears 72 so that the latter gears of each adjacent pair will mesh alternately with the respective segmental gear 75 and will thereby drive the latter continuously but in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of thegears 72 or, in other words, in the same direction in which the sleeves 13 rotate. The segmental gears 75 are so timed or arranged relatively to the fliers 66 of the lower strand supplying devices as to cause the flat or cut-away sides of the gears 75 to be presented to the fliers 66 as the latter pass between the shafts 12 during their rotation, as will be seen from Fig. 2, thus insuring clear passageways for the fliers of the lower strand supplying devices. The segmental gears 75 are supported and guided by upper and lower substantially semi-circular grooves or raceways 76 formed in gear mountings 77 which are removably secured by screws as shown to sections 78 of a gear casing, each of the gears 75 having segmental ribs 79 on the upper and lower sides of its rim to fit into and travel in said raceways. The gear casing composed of the sections 78 is of a generally annular form, the sections 78 composing it being each segmental in form and the different sections being separated from one another to form spaces 80 between them which are in the paths of travel of the respective fliers 66 so that the latter will pass through the gear casing and will clear the sections thereof, it being understood that the segmental gears 75, during their rotation, will pass alternately from the end of one casing section to the adjacent end of the next casing section and will cross the spaces 80 in doing so. Each segmental casing section 78 is secured in fixed position on the upper end of the respective shaft l2 by a nut 81 or other suitable means, and these casing sections are properly shaped so that they will enclose the respective gears 72 on the upper ends of these shafts.

The upper strand supplying devices are carried by the segmental gears 75, they being arranged in an annular series around the pedestal 2 and in alternating relation with the annular series of lower strand supplying devices carried by the shafts 12 and sleeves 13, the upper strand supplying devices being rotated on their own axes, while travelling around the pedestal 2 as a center, in the same direction as that in which the lower strand supplying devices are rotated.

Each of the upper strand supplying devices comprises a bobbin holder and cooperative flier. According to the present invention, each upper bobbin holder and flier comprises a bracket 82 which is rigidly supported on the respective segmental gear 75 by an offset arm 83 the lower end of which is clamped by a nut 84 to the center of the respective gear 75 in such an angular position that the bracket 82 and the bobbin and ier thereon will clear the respective lower flier 66 as the latter passes through the openings 80 in the gear casing and past the flat or cut-away portion of the gear 75. The upper portion of the bracket 82 has a stem 85 swivelled therein on a horizontal axis as at 86 and the outer end of this stem supports a pivot pin 87 on which the" upper end of a bobbin receiving spindle 88 is pivoted, said spindle carrying near its upper pivoted end a disk 89 against which the upper end of a bobbin 90 on the spindle may bear. A latch or spindle retaining member 91 is pivoted to the lower portion of the bracket 83', on the pivot 92, and it extends horizontally from the bracket, it having a portion 93 arranged to bear against the lower end of a bobbin 90 on the spindle 88 and also having an aperture or socket 94 therein to receive the lower free end of the spindle and thereby retain the latter in its normal operative position. The latch 91 is provided with an extension 95 at the inner side of its pivot 92, and the bracket 82 is provided with a lug 96 in which is threaded a hollow adjusting screw or sleeve 97, the latter having a corporating lock nut 98 for holding it in different adjusted positions. rThe hollow screw or sleeve 97 contains a coiled compression spring 99 the lower end of which bears on a plunger 100, and this plunger bears on the upper side of the extension 95 of the latch 91 and acts under the influence of the spring 99 to force the portion 93 of the latch upwardly against the lower end of the spool 90 and thereby frictionally clamp the spool between it and the disk 89 and thus impose a frictional resistance to the rotation of the spool incident to the unwinding of the strand y therefrom, and this spring plunger also acting to yieldingly retain the latch 91 in retaining relation with the bobbin supporting spindle 88 as shown by the full lines in Fig. 7. Removal of an empty bobbin from the holder and replacement thereof by a filled bobbin is eifected by pressing the latch 91 downwardly into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7, the lower free end of the spindle 88 being thus released so that this spindle may be swung lin any direct-ion, either about the pivot 87 or the swivelled portion 86 of the stern 85 so that the empty bobbin may be removed therefrom and another bobbin substituted, after which the spindle 88 is swung back to its normal position with the substituted bobbin thereon and the latch 91 returned to its normal raised position under the action of the spring 99 as shown by the full lines in Fig. 7. The latch 91 is preferably formed with a bevelled surface 101 leading to the hole or aperture 94 over which the lower end of the spindle 88 may ride so that it will automatically reenter said aperture or socket when it is returned to normal operative position.

The bobbin holder for each of the upper strand supplying devices is also provided, according to the present invention, with means for automatically taking up slack in the respective strand and for regulating the tension thereon during the braiding operation, such slack take-up and tension regulating means as shown comprising a lever 102 which is pivoted at 103 on the respective bracket 82, one end of this lever having a hook 104 in which a portion y of the strand 'y from the respective bobbin is looped, this strand passing through an eye 105 in the upper portion of the bracket 82 which thus serves as a flier, and the lever 102 is provided with an arm 106 on which a coiled compression spring 107 rests, this spring being housed in and bearing against a shell 108 which is threaded on or otherwise adjustable vertically on the upper end of a stem 109 which is xed to the plunger 100, a lock nut 110 threaded on the stem 109 serving to retain the shell 108 in different adjusted positions. By this arrangement, an increase in tension on the loop y' of the strand will swing the lever 102 from the dotted line position toward the full line position, Fig. 7, thereby compressing the spring 107, and the latter will act to overcome, more or less, the power of the spring 99, thereby correspondingly releasing the friction producing pressure of the latch 91 on the spool incident to the unwinding of the strand therefrom and thus relieving excess tension on the strand. On the lll-5 other hand, when slack occurs in the unwinding of the strand, the lever 102 will be allowed to swing in an opposite direction, lowering the arm 106 thereon and thereby reducing the compression on the spring 107 and correspondingly reducing its opposition to the action of the spring 99, in consequence of which the spring 99 Will force the latch 91 against the bobbin with increased pressure, thereby increasing the frictional resistance to its rotation incident to the unwinding of the strand therefrom and thus taking up the slack in the unwinding strand. Adjustment of the screw or sleeve 97 serves to vary the power of the respective spring 99 so that the tension of the strands unwinding from the upper bobbins may be thus adjusted for the production of hard or soft braid, and adjustment of the shell 108 on the stem 109 enables the slack take-up and tension regulating action to be adjusted as may be required.

A guide ring 111 is loosely or rotatably mounted on the upper end of the pedestal 2, the periphery of this ring being preferably circular and substantially vertically above the centers of the paths traversed by the strand delivery ends of the upper and lower sets of fliers as the latter revolve on their individual axes. The strands pass from the guide ring through an eye 112 formed in a bracket 113 which latter is supported from a stationary frame 114, the latter being secured to and extending upwardly from the base plate 1. The completely braided rope or cord, after passing through the eye 112, passes around a pulley 115 which serves to feed the braided rope or cord from the machine at a constant or predetermined rate in relation to the braiding operation, such feeding means as shown in the present instance being like that shown and described in the above mentioned patent, it being believed sufcient to note that the pulley 115 comprisingV a part of such feeding means is driven by a shaft 116 journalled in the upper portion of the frame 114 by intermeshing gears 117 and countershaft 118, intermeshing worm gearing 119 and shaft 120, and bevel gears 121 which connect the latter shaft to the main drive shaft 21 to operate in constant or predetermined timed relation therewith and with the braiding devices in the machine driven therefrom. The bracket 113 shown is part of an automatic throwoli' device for the machine but since it forms no part of the present invention and is embodied in and claimed in my separate application Serial No. 635,662, filed Sept. 30, 1932, it is deemed unnecessary to describe the same herein.

The operation of the braiding machine herein described is the same ingeneral as that of the machine disclosed in the hereinbefore mentioned patent. Power being applied to the machine from the main shaft 21, the carriage or mounting comprising the sleeve 4 and heads 8 and 9 will be rotated about the pedestal 2 as a center, through the bevel gears 19 and 20 which connect the driving shaft 21 to the lower end of said carriage or mounting. The annular series of shafts 12 and the sleeves 13 rotatable thereon and carrying the set of lower bobbin holders and cooperative iers will be thus rotated in a circular path about the pedestal 2 as a center and the sleeves 13 and the set of lower bobbins and fliers will be revolved, all in the same direction and at equal speed, by the gears 28 which roll around the stationary gear 27 xed to the pedestal and which drive the respective gears 30 Ywhich latter, in turn, mesh with the gears 31 on the respective adjacent sleeves 13. At the same time, the gears 71 xed'to the sleeves 13, acting through the pinions 711 and gears 72, rotate the segmental gears 75 in the same direction in which the sleeves 13 rotate, so that the lower fliers 66 fixed to the sleeves 13 and the upper fliers `formed by the brackets 82 iiXed tothe segmental gears 75 will all revolve in the same direction about their respective axes while travelling around the pedestal. The lower fliers 65 pass around the segmental gears and the upper bobbins and fliers thereon, thereby braiding together the respective strands, and the braided strands pass over the guide ring 111 and through the eye 112 and the braided rope or cord is fed from the machine at a constant rate in relation to the operation of the braiding mechanism, by the feeding means comprising the pulley or roller 115 which is driven from the main shaft 21 which drives the braiding mechanism, so that the strands, during the braiding operation, will be maintained under appropriate tension, the unwinding of the strands from the bobbins being under control of the friction means hereinbefore described which impose appropriate tension thereon, and the slack in the strandaparticularly while the fliers are passing through the inner parts of their travel, being automatically taken up and the tension on the strands being regulated so that excess tension thereon is avoided, by the automatic slack take-up and tension regulating means for the spools as hereinbefore described.

By supporting the lower set of bobbins and fliers in a carriage or mounting comprising the sleeve 4 and heads 8 and 9 which form a rigid unitary structure, distortion of the carriage or mounting means for the lower strand supplying devices is effectively prevented. Such rigid unitary mounting for the lower strand supplying devices is particularly effective to resist twisting thereof under the power applied to its lower end to rotate it and to drive the braiding mechanisms of the machine. 1f such twistv of the carriage or mounting supporting the lower set of strand supplying devices were permitted to occur, one end of each segmental gear casing section 78 would become displaced downwardly while the adjacent end of the nextV segmental gear casing section would become displaced upwardly, thereby destroying registration between the raceways 76 in which the segmental gears 75 operate and, in consequence, the operation or free and continuous rotation of such segmental gears would be prevented or seriously interfered with. The rigidity of the unitary mounting provided for the lower strand supplying devices, according to the present inventio prevents such twisting or torsional distortion thereof and thereby insures maintenance of the raceways in the segmental sections of the gear casing for the segmental gears in accurate register, thereby insuring smooth and uninterrupted operation of the rnachine and minimizing wear of the segmental gears and their raceways. i i

By placing the main drive gear 27 and the cooperating gears which drive the sleeves 13 in a dust-proof housing as hereinbefore described, exclusion of dust or other foreign matter from these gears, which would interfere with their enicient operation, is prevented and, moreover, such housing provides for the maintenance of such gearing in properly lubricated condition. Furthermore, the driving of the sleeves 13 by the interposed gears 23 and 30 simplifies the driving means for the lower set of strand supplying devices and avoids the necessity of using an internal gear as heretofore generally used and which is objectionable.

By driving the upper set of strand supplying devices by the bevel gears and interposed pinions at the upper ends of the shafts, the driving of the upper" set of strand supplying devices is effected substantially directly and with minimum friction.

The improved bobbin holders provided by the present invention enable the slack in the strands to be taken up automatically and the tension of the strands to be regulated automatically, and the tension adjustments for the bobbin holders enable either hard or soit braid to be produced, as may be desired.

The improved bobbin holders provided by the present invention also enable empty bobbins to be removed and filled bobbins to be substituted, with great facility, double swivelling of the bobbin receiving spindles for the upper bobbins especially enabling these upper bobbins to be removed and replaced from any angle, thereby avoiding interference from the iers of the lower strand supplying devices which are in adjacent relation thereto.

I claim as my invention:

i. in a braiding machine having a pedestal,

sets of strand supplying devices and cooperative iiiers arranged alternately and in annular series around said pedestal, shafts for rotatably supporting one set of strand supplying devices thereon, a sectional casing the sections of which f are supported on said shafts and form spaces between them for the passage of the fliers of one set oi strand supplying devices, and gearing including segmental gears guided by said casing to cross the spaces between the sections thereof .for supporting and rotating the other set of strand supplying devices, a rigid unitary mounting comprising a member rotatable about the axis of the pedestal and means spaced axially on and rigidly connected to said member and supporting said shafts toward their opposite ends against torsional twist about the axis of the pedestal to thereby maintain the gear guiding portions of the sections of said casing in register, and means cooperative with one end oi said mounting for rotating it and said shafts about the pedestal.

2. n a braiding machine having a pedestal, sets of strand supplying devices and associated .fliers arranged alternately and in annular series around said pedestal, shafts for rotatably supporting one set of strand supplying devices thereon, a sectional casing` the sections of which are supported on said shafts andiform spaces between them for the passage of the fliers of one set of strand supplying devices, and gearing including segmental gears guided by said casing to cross the spaces between the sections thereof for supporting and rotating the other set of strand supplying devices, a rigid unitary mounting for supporting said shafts and rotating them about the pedestal comprising a sleeve rotatable on said pedestal and having heads rigidly secured to the ends'thereof to form a rigid unit therewith, one of said heads having said shafts each toward one end thereof rigidly secured thereto and the other head rigidly supporting said shafts toward their opposite ends against torsional twist about the axis of the pedestal to thereby maintain the gear guiding portions of said casing sections in register, and means to act on said mounting to- Losaooi ward one end thereof for rotating it and said shafts about the pedestal. v

3. in a braiding machine having a pedestal, sets of strand supplying devices and associated iii arranged alternately and annular series around said pedestal, shafts having sleeve rotatably carrled thereon for supporting and rotating one set oi strand supplying devices, a sectional casing the sections of which are supported on said sliaiss and form spaces between them for the of the fliers of one set of strand supplying devices, and gearing including segmental gears guided by the sections of said casto cross the spaces between seid ng sections for supporting and rotating other set of strand supplying devices, a rigid L-nitary mounting for said shafts comprising a sleeve rotatable on said pedestal, a head rigidly secured thereto and rigidly secured to said shafts toward one thereof, and a cooperative head rigidly secured to sleeve and carrying bearings rotatably supporting said shaft carried sleeves toward the other ends of said shafts, and means connected to one end of said mounting for rotatit and said shafts about said pedestal.

e. in a braiding machine having a pedestal, a set of bobbin and flier carriers arranged in an annular series around said pedestal, and shafts having sleeves rotatably mounted thereon for supporting said bobbin and flier carriers, a mounting for shafts and bobbin and ier carriers comprising a member rotatable'on the pedestal and having a head fixed thereto toward one end thereof, said head having said shafts fixed thereto, and a recessed head iXed to said member toward its other end and containing bearings which rotatably support said sleeves, gears fixed to said sleeves, a gear fixed to the pedestal within said recessed head and connected to the gears on said sleeves for rotating them and the bobbin and flier carriers thereon, a cover cooperative with said recessed head to form a casing which encloses said gears, and means for rotating said mounting on the pedestal.

5. In a braiding machine having a pedestal, a set of bobbin and flier carriers arranged in Aannular series around said pedestal, and shafts having sleeves rotatably mounted thereon for supporting said carriers, a mounting for said shafts and carriers comprising a member rotatable on the pedestal and hav'mg a head xed thereto toward one vend thereof, said head having said shaitsxed thereto, and a recessed head iixed to said member toward its other end and containing bearings which rotatably support said sleeves, gears fixed to said sleeves, a gear fixed to the pedestal within said recessed head, intermediate gears between the latter gear and the gears on said sleeves and supported in said recessed head for rotating said sleeves, a cover cooperative with said recessed head to form a casing which encloses said gears, and means for rotating said mounting on the pedestal.

6. lin a braiding machine having a pedestal, sets of bobbin and flier carriers arranged alternately in annular series around the pedestal and a mountig rotatable on the pedestal and carrying shafts having sleeves rotatable thereon for supporting and rotating one set of said carriers, means for rotating the other set of bobbin and nier carriers comprising a gear xed to each of said sleeves, a gear connected to each of said other carriers and located coaXially with the gear on the respective sleeve, and pinions supported los on relatively iixed axes and meshing with the respective coaxial gears.

'7. In a braiding machine having a pedestal, sets of bobbin and flier carriers arranged alternately in annular series around the pedestal, and a mounting rotatable on the pedestal and carrying shafts having sleeves rotatable thereon for supporting and rotating one set of said carriers, means for rotating the other set of said carriers comprising a gear xed to each of said sleeves, a gear connected to each of said other carriers and loosely mounted on the respective shafts, and means connecting the gear on each sleeve to the gear on the respective shaft to drive the latter in reverse direction to the direction of rotation of the sleeve.

8. In a braiding machine having a pedestal, sets of bobbin and iiier carriers arranged in annular series around the pedestal, and a mounting rotatable on the pedestal and carrying shafts having sleeves rotatable thereon for supporting and rotating one set of said carriers, means for rotating the other set of carriers comprising a bevel gear fixed to each of said sleeves, a bevel gear connected to each of said other carriers and loosely mounted on the respective shaft, and bevel pinions fixed to the respective shafts to rotate on relatively xed axes and meshing with the gears on the respective shafts and sleeves.

WILLIAM C. WRIGHT. 

